Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $195.00 at Maxim Group

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target lifted by Maxim Group from $178.00 to $195.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Maxim Group currently has a hold rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays reiterated an underweight rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $196.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a buy rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $215.71.

Apple Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $210.62 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $220.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.